Here's this week's newsquiz - 25 questions

Last week’s newsquiz was clearly a tough one … with the top score a modest 14 by both Toby Brown and Ollie Gillman. The best team score was Team Batstone (Adam, Lucy Thorpe and daughter Meg) with 13. This week’s quiz, I think, is a little easier. Give it a go and let me know how you get on. 

1. An investigation by which newspaper reported that women were groped and propositioned by guests at the Presidents Club charity dinner?
2. Among the auction lots being sold at the Presidents Club charity dinner were tea and lunch with which two well-known figures? Half a point for each.

3. Chancellor Philip Hammond upset party colleagues when he told business leaders in Davos that: ‘We are taking two completely interconnected and aligned economies with high levels of trade between them, and selectively moving them, hopefully very _____ apart’. What is the missing word?
4. Boris Johnson accused which organisation of speaking ‘nonsense' after it demanded Britain stay in a customs union with the EU?

5. Although no figure was mentioned at the Cabinet meeting, it was widely reported that Boris Johnson would call for how much extra funding per week for the NHS?

6. UKIP leader Henry Bolton said his party's national executive was 'unfit for purpose' and he would be staying in post. He said ‘in a single phrase, it is time to ____ ____ ____.’ What are the missing three words?
7. The head of the Army warned that hostility with Russia could come sooner than expected and Britain must prepare to 'fight the war we might have to fight’. What is his name?

8. Broadcasters Huw Edwards, Jon Sopel, John Humphrys and Jeremy Vine all agreed, in principle, to do what?

9. Former England footballer Jimmy Armfield, who died age 82, made a record 627 appearances for which football team?

10. Who received a standing ovation in the House of Lords and quoted Seamus Heaney’s last words Noli Timere - do not be afraid.

11. Why was Russell Hume in the headlines?

12. What did Jack Brooksbank do while watching the sun set over a volcano in Nicaragua?

13. What is the name of the porn star who was allegedly paid £95,000 in hush money over an alleged affair with Donald Trump?

14. Why was 24-year-old Cherry Seaborn in the headlines?
15. The police chief and mayor of which city said they would intervene after four Japanese tourists were presented with a bill of €1,100 (£970) for four steaks and a plate of mixed grilled fish and a water?
16. Kyle Edmund's semi-final appearance in the Australian Open means he will move into the top 30 when the rankings are released next week. What is his current ranking?
17. Canadian Justin Cheng is believed to have become the seventh student to have taken their own life in 18 months at which university?
18. Scarlett Johansson told the crowd at the Los Angeles Women's March she 'wanted her pin back' from who?

19. Singer Neil Diamond announced he was retiring from touring after being diagnosed with what?

20. Who deleted his Twitter account, which had 1.6 million followers, following criticism of ’sexist’ tweets dating back to 2012?  

21. Simon Barnes, 52, who froze to death on a Liverpool Street played which TV character from 1998 to 2001?

22. Staff of which supermarket group were told of plans to axe the roles of deputy manager, department manager, team leader and store supervisor - a shake-up that puts thousands of jobs at risk?

23. Chinese scientists have cloned what animals, using the same technique that produced Dolly the Sheep?
24. Who gatecrashed the This Morning team as they accepted the best daytime programme at the National Television Awards.
25. Anya Shrubsole became the first woman to appear where?

Answers here. 

If you are feeling particularly confident there is an Australian newsquiz this week too. Try it here. 

Aussie trainees get first stories published

Daily Mail Australia trainees Greta Levy, Cait Kelly, Sam Lock, Claudia Poposki, Nicole Pierre and Holly Hales

The Daily Mail Australia trainees in Sydney have had an energetic week. They had sessions with editor Barclay Crawford, former trainees Matilda Rudd, Hannah Moore and Josh Hanrahan and with Femail editor Sheree Mutton. They also gained their first bylines. Claudia Poposki and Nicole Pierre took pictures at the women’s march in Sydney on Sunday which were published here.

Greta Levy interviewed Australia's young Indigenous Prime Minister on the eve of Australia Day and her exclusive story was the banner overnight on Thursday and into today. You can read it here. 

Holly Hales interviewed the mother and sister of a man who was stabbed to death during Australia Day celebrations two years ago and who told her their lives had been 'destroyed beyond repair'. Holly's exclusive story is here. 

The trainees had a bit of Australia Day fun too. Claudia looked at very Aussie alternatives to the Australian of the Year awards. Her nominees included Melissa the shark wrangler and a sexy kangaroo. Really! Claudia's story is here.

Cait Kelly reported on today's big cockroach race in Brisbane followed by the Miss Cocky awards. Read it here.

This afternoon they are covering the protests and celebrations around Sydney.

Before they hit the streets we did the newsquiz  ... 25 questions from the week's events. This week's winner was Claudia with a solid 16 points, just ahead of Nicole and Holly with 14.5. Give it a go and see if you can do any better.

1. Scarlett Johansson told the crowd at the Los Angeles Women's March that she 'wanted her pin back' from who?

2. Who claimed that allegations of sexual misconduct, published by Fairfax and the ABC, had 'annihilated' his career?
3. The cast of Home And Away attended the funeral of actress Jessica Falkholt at St Mary's Catholic Church in which Sydney suburb?
4. More than a dozen passengers were injured when a train ploughed into a barrier at which Sydney station?
5. A three-day government shutdown in America finished when the Democrats agreed to end the standoff in exchange for a promise of a debate on the future of what?
6. Nick Kyrgios was knocked out of the Australian Open in the fourth round by who?
7. Why was Nick Kyrgios fined $2,500 during his match against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga at the Australian Open on Tuesday?
8. Gina Rinehart, Harry Triguboff, Andrew Forrest and Frank Lowy were included on which list, according to a report by Oxfam International?
9. Australian businessman Rohan Arnold was arrested at gunpoint inside the Metropol Palace Hotel in which city?
10. A possible grave site for the three missing children, who disappeared from Glenelg Beach, Adelaide, on Australia Day in 1966, has been uncovered in Plympton. What was the surname of the three children?
11. Five-year-old Alyssa Jayde New was ‘petrified’ after being trapped where for five hours?
12. Singer Neil Diamond cancelled his tour dates in Australia and New Zealand after announcing he had been diagnosed with what?
13. On average people calling Centrelink waited an average of __ minutes and __ seconds to talk with someone, according to the agency's annual report. What are the two missing numbers?
14. What was the name of the cafe in Bankstown City Plaza in Sydney where a lawyer was shot dead on Tuesday?
15. Actress Margot Robbie celebrated her first Oscar nomination for her role in which film?

16. A statue of which historical figure was splattered with pink paint and sprayed with the Aboriginal flag and the words 'no pride’ in St Kilda, Melbourne?

17. Maree Crabtree was charged on Wednesday over the deaths of who?

18. Why was 24-year-old Cherry Seaborn in the headlines?

19. The police chief and mayor of which city said they would intervene after four Japanese tourists were presented with a bill of €1,100 for four steaks, a plate of mixed grilled fish and water?

20. A distinctive tattoo on the leg of gang member led investigators to the men involved in a rape of a 16-year-old at a party in western Sydney. The tattoo was a picture of what?

21. Anneka Bading inadvertently filmed the moment a man slipped and drowned at which Australian waterfall?

22. What did Jack Brooksbank do while watching the sun set over a volcano in Nicaragua?

23. Chinese scientists have cloned what animals, using the same technique that produced Dolly the Sheep?

24. Which commission ruled that Sydney’s rail workers were unable to take strike action on Monday, in part because of the threat to the economy?

25. What is the name of the 17-year-old Indigenous Prime Minister who said January 26 should be a day of mourning?

Answers here

Time to tackle this week's newsquiz

The top scorer in last week's newsquiz was Elly Rewcastle with 18, narrowly ahead of Andy Reed on 17. The Penman Partnership and Adam Batstone and Lucy Thorpe were the top teams, also on 18. Here is this week's quiz - as usual 25 questions about the week. Give it a go and let me know how you get on.

Today's front pages

1. The Government is setting up a national taskforce to support businesses and workers affected by the collapse of which company?

2. How many Labour MPs voted against the party whip, after being urged to abstain, and voted to stay in the Single Market and Customs Union?

3. Work and Pensions Secretary Esther McVey overturned a government policy, that restricted those with mental health conditions from receiving PIPs, which was described by the High Court as 'blatantly discriminatory.’  What does PIPs stand for?

4. What was the name of the 17th century pub where Theresa May entertained the French President Emmanuel Macron?

5. Nigel Farage commented on the Foreign Secretary’s idea to build a bridge across the English Channel by tweeting: 'Boris' ______ bridge sounds like a big waste of money. Dangerous for container ships and useless when the wind blows (which is often)!’ What is the missing word?

6. French president Emmanuel Macron threw his presidential weight behind calls for the United Nations to recognise what as a 'cultural treasure’?

7. What is set to come to Britain for the first time in 950 years?

8. US president Donald Trump caused a diplomatic stir by reportedly referring to countries in Africa and one other country as shitholes. What was the other country?

9. Ronny Jackson, the White House doctor, said US president Trump was in 'excellent health' but warned he had a Body Mass Index of what?

10. Why was Jo Marney in the headlines?
11. Dolores O’Riordan who died aged 46 was the lead singer with which Irish band?
12. Who tweeted: 'I woke up this morning in Hawaii with ten minutes to live?’
13. What is the surname of the family that reportedly kept their 13 children malnourished and chained to beds in Perris, California?
14. What was the pseudonym used by the woman who wrote about her encounter with actor and comedian Aziz Ansari?
15. Who married two flight attendants on a plane travelling from Santiago?

16. The film A Good Year, directed by Sir Ridley Scott, was based on a book by Peter Mayle, who died this week aged 78. What was the book called?

17. Lady Lucan, who died age 80, left her estate to which charity?

18. Travel agent Cassie Hayes was killed as she worked in a TUI office in which town?

19. Peter Wyngarde, who died age 90, was best known for his role as which TV detective?

20. He was born in French Guiana, became the third black player to be capped for England and was awarded an MBE in 2008. Who is he?

21. According to a BBC documentary, gemstones from the Crown Jewels were stashed in what to hide them at Windsor Castle during the Second World War? 

22. Television personality Ant McPartlin issued a statement saying he was 'very sad to announce that he is ending his marriage to Lisa’ after how many years?

23. Talking about his son’s new position, Danny Wilson said: 'I should be the proudest dad in the world, as happy as a lark by what he's achieved - but I am ashamed of him. 'I can't even bring myself to use his name.’ Who was he referring to?

24. Who announced her first pregnancy on Facebook by saying: 'Clarke and I are really excited that in June our team will expand from two to three, and that we'll be joining the many parents out there who wear two hats.’

25. What did 30-year-old Joey Wheeler do for a reported £180?

Answers here

If you are feeling confident, this week there is also an Australian newsquiz here

The Aussie newsquiz ... Claudia's 14 to beat

I spent an enjoyable three days with six new trainees at Daily Mail Australia's Sydney office this week. They were trained on Content Creator with Nick Enoch and then we moved on to finding and writing stories in Mail style. They had sessions with news-editor Katie Davies and managing director Peter Holder. On Thursday they enjoyed informal 'meet the staff' drinks at the Sussex Hotel. We finished as always with the newsquiz, 25 questions about the week's events. The scratchcard (scratchy) was won by Claudia Poposki with 14, just pipping Holly Hales on 13.5. Here is the quiz. Give it a go and see if you can beat Claudia's 14. 

Will Ferrell interviews Roger Federer on court at the Australian Open. Question 12

1. How old was Jessica Falkholt who died three weeks after a crash which claimed the lives of her parents and sister?
2. Which character did Jessica Falkholt play in the soap Home and Away?
3. How did former Australian rugby union captain Nick Farr-Jones help police this week?
4. Ronny Jackson, the White House doctor, said US president Trump was in 'excellent health' but warned he had a Body Mass Index of what?
5. Who suggested that former tennis champion Billie Jean King check her facts before making allegations?
6. Dolores O’Riordan, who died aged 46, was the lead singer with which Irish band?
7. 56-year-old Klaus Petr was stabbed to death while sitting in a park reading a bible outside which Sydney train station?
8. Mobile phone users in Hawaii received a message that said: 'Ballistic missile threat inbound to Hawaii. Seek immediate shelter. This is not a ____.’ What is the missing word?
9. Who tweeted 'I woke up this morning in Hawaii with ten minutes to live?’ 
10. A balcony collapsed at the stock exchange, injuring more than 80 people, in which country?
11. What is the surname of the family that reportedly kept their 13 children malnourished and chained to beds in Perris, California?
12. In an interview with Roger Federer at the Australian Open, Will Ferrell said: 'Quick question Roger. You're 36 years old, you seem ageless. Are you a witch or a ______?’ What is the missing word? 
13. After losing in the Australian Open, tennis player Bernard Tomic said: 'I just count money, that's all I do, I count my millions. You go make $__ or $__million. Good luck, bye bye.’ What are the two missing figures. Half a point for each.

14. Why was Amelia Blake in the headlines?
15. Who said the idea of shifting Australia Day from January 26 to another day to appease left-wing activists was 'rewriting history' and urged a stand be taken against 'vocal minorities’?
16. What is Ben Beath, the founder of Melbourne digital agency Loud & Clear, offering his staff if they boycott Australia Day and work instead?
17. Sean Price, 39, faces life behind bars after a US jury found him guilty of what?
18. What did Skyline Aviation Group pilot Lee Mitchell return to Tony Lethbridge?  
19. What did Richard Ligault 'simply forget’?
20. A Malaysian Airlines flight from Sydney to Kuala Lumpur ran into technical difficulties and was forced to make an emergency landing where? 
21. Who announced her first pregnancy on Facebook by saying: 'Clarke and I are really excited that in June our team will expand from two to three, and that we'll be joining the many parents out there who wear two hats.’
22. What was the pseudonym used by the woman who wrote about her encounter with actor and comedian Aziz Ansari?

23. Who said this week he was ‘running around the streets of Sydney, all the gay bars, drinking a lot of wine... fabulous’? 

24. Who married two cabin crew during a flight flying from Santiago?

25. More than 9,000 train workers are due to hold a one-day strike in Sydney when?

Answers here

If you are feeling confident, the UK newsquiz is here

Here's the newsquiz - give it a go

Well done to Toby Brown who was top scorer in last week’s newsquiz with 20 points. Other high scores were posted by Gavin Devine on 18.5 and Sian Brewis, Dominic Hurst and Enid Shelmerdine who all scored 18. Impressive scores. Here is this week’s quiz. As usual there are 25 questions about the week’s events. Give it a go and let me know how you get on.

Today's front pages

1. Doctors from how many A&E departments sent a letter to Theresa May warning that the NHS 'is severely and chronically underfunded’ and that the 'current level of safety compromise is at times intolerable’?

2. In Theresa May’s Cabinet reshuffle Karen Bradley, MP for Staffordshire Moorlands, was appointed to which position?
3. Who resigned from the Government after refusing the job as Work and Pensions Secretary in the Cabinet reshuffle?

4. Speaking on Channel 5’s the Wright Stuff, Nigel Farage suggested he wanted a second EU referendum, saying: 'What is for certain is that the Cleggs, the ____, the ____ will never, ever-ever give up’. Who are the two missing people? Half a point for each.

5. Carrie Gracie resigned from which post at the BBC in protest at the gender pay gap, accusing the corporation of a 'secretive and illegal' culture of unequal salaries?

6. Oprah Winfrey dedicated her Golden Globes speech to a woman who had died ten days earlier, just before her 98th birthday. What was the woman’s name?
7. French actress Catherine Deneuve was among 100 French women who warned about a new ‘puritanism’  sparked by recent sexual harassment scandals. Where was the letter first published?

8. What sold out within hours of Meghan Markle visiting a Brixton radio station? 

9. Philippe Coutinho left Liverpool for which city for a fee of £142 million?
10. Who said he had felt ‘isolated' and under pressure to say gay sex was not sinful?
11. Which railway station was evacuated after a fire on the main concourse spread to the roof?

12. Which High Street company announced its most successful sales day in history on Black Friday and that in the six weeks ending December 30 its sales were £1.96billion ... a 2.5 percent rise on the previous year?

13. According to official data, 24,473 attempts were made to do what in the Houses of Parliament since the general election?
14. Which new controversial advert opens with a cartoon of a young man who appears to be crying and a narrator saying. 'It feels like, as a man, you can never express your emotions’?

15. Why did You Tube cut its ties with one of its 'stars', 22-year-old Logan Paul, who had 15 million subscribers?

16. Former football coach Barry Bennell appeared at Liverpool Crown Court accused of subjecting boys from the youth schemes of which two football clubs to hundreds of sexual assaults? Half a point for each.
17. Five men used axes to smash windows and steal jewellery believed to be worth £4million at which Paris hotel?
18. Roy Rohter, the founder of a Catholic school, Rebecca Riskin, owner of a real estate firm and Jim and Alice Mitchell, residents of the House of Contentment, were all victims of what?

19. Paramedic David Hickling, who was one of the first people to arrive at the Grenfell Tower tragedy, escaped a driving ban despite doing what speed on the A55 in Flintshire?
20. Ray Thomas, who died age 76, was the flautist and founding member of which rock band?
21. Virgin Trains announced it would no longer be stocking what, saying it was 'not compatible with the VT brand and our beliefs’?
22.  Racing commentator Matt Chapman left what job after only one week?

23. Why was 63-year-old Barbara Coombes in the headline?

24. Which 56-year-old died in his sleep after spending most of his life on an island in Wiltshire living in a purpose-built centrally-heated house with classical pillars and a TV?

25. What did Marks & Spencer withdraw from sale after it was ridiculed by consumers for its ‘excessive' plastic packaging and inflated price?

Answers here

Try the first newsquiz of the year

Last week's top news quizzer was Elly Rewcastle with a massive 22 - the benefit of working in a newsroom over Christmas.  Janet Boyle also did well with 19 ... a winning score on any other week. The top team were the drinkers in the Three Legs who notched up 19, narrowly ahead of the Penman Partnership with 18. Here's this week's quiz, the first of the year. Give it a go and let me know how you get on. 

1. Prime Minister Theresa May apologised after it was revealed that 16,900 people were stuck where in the week between Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve?
2. Former Labour minister Andrew Adonis resigned as chairman of what, in protest at Theresa May’s management of Brexit?

3. Which writer deleted thousands of tweets amid a row over his appointment to the board of the Office for Students, which can regulate university vice chancellors’ pay and enforce campus ‘free speech’?   

4. Environment secretary Michael Gove told farmers that the Government would guarantee subsidies at the current EU level until when?

5. Which party leader asked supporters not to allow his relationship with a 25-year-old model to distract him or the party from their 'vital mission’?

6. Richard Cousins, who was one of six people killed in a seaplane crash near Sydney Harbour on New Year’s Eve, was the outgoing CEO of the world's largest catering firm. What is the company called? 

7. What did Kim Jong-un, the leader of North Korea, say was always on his desk?
8. Public Health England launched a campaign to encourage parents to look for snacks of no more than how many calories - and to limit them to two a day?

9. The captains of England women’s cricket team and Wales men's rugby union side were both awarded the OBE in the New Year’s Honours. Name them both. Half a point for each

10. Who said, on receiving an honour at New Year, that: 'I want to acknowledge how responsible my brothers are for this honour. It is as much theirs as it is mine.’

11. A fire in a car park led to 4,000 people being evacuated from which show at the Echo Arena in Liverpool?

12. Britain’s exports of 500,000 tons of what have been stopped by the Chinese government?

13. Lawyers for US President Donald Trump are seeking to stop the release of a book by Michael Wolff which contains damaging allegations about the president's administration. What is the book called?

14. Unilever confirmed it is closing a historic Colman’s Mustard factory, ending a 200-year presence in which city?

15. Who flew from Australia to Britain, saying he was going 'to assess all the options’?

16. According to council leader Simon Dudley which town 'is different and requires a more robust approach to begging’?

17. Which country accused the US government of stepping up its acts of intervention in its internal affairs in a 'grotesque way’?

18. Author Nick Holland threatened to resign over model Lily Cole’s appointment as a 'creative partner' of which organisation?

19. Why was John Worboys in the headlines?

20. A fire at Woburn safari park in Bedfordshire killed thirteen what?
21. Rob Cross, who became world champion and banked a cheque for £400,000, gave up his job to become a professional darts player 16 months ago. What was his job?
22. Prince Philip reportedly made a gaffe on a walkabout at Sandringham after pointing at a bearded member of the crowd and asking if he was what?

23. Which company, in response to a customer's complaint about being referred to as ‘honey', tweeted to ask if she would prefer ‘pet' or ‘love' next time?

24. Shropshire council is investigating complaints about the restaurant Carlini in Albrighton after an 'ill-judged’ tweet in which a chef claimed to have done what?

25. Campaigners claimed that which drink was being stockpiled following AG Barr's announcement of a new recipe which will contain 54 per cent less sugar?

Answers here

Mail looking for trainee subs and reporters

The 2017 trainees and reporters at the Mail offices in London

The Daily Mail is looking for trainee reporters and subs to start on its graduate scheme in September/October.   

The trainees will embark on a year-long programme that involves intense training, assessment and on-the-job experience in regional  newspapers.

The successful applicants will probably have a degree and will have shown a commitment to journalism by working for their student newspaper/website and gained work experience in newsrooms.

Previous graduates of the scheme now hold senior positions on the Mail and its sister paper the Mail on Sunday.

The course starts with intensive in-house training during which the trainees are introduced to Mail style and culture. It is followed by five months placement – at either a regional daily paper, the Mail in Scotland or the Irish Daily Mail in Dublin - after which the trainees will return to Derry Street.

Trainees will be paid a competitive salary while they train. 

To apply send a covering letter, your CV and three examples of your work to sue.ryan@dailymail.co.uk by Friday February 9, 2018.
The reporting job adverts are on Hold The Front Page here and the subbing ones are here.